Editor's Note: Friday was a huge day for Yulee, Fla. During an early-afternoon pep rally at the high school, star running back Derrick Henry chose Alabama over Tennessee and Georgia. Florida and Florida State were not in the running. In the evening, the Sporting News Top 125 running back played on national television against Glades Day School of Belle Glade, Fla., which features Florida commit Kelvin Taylor, the son of former Florida and Jacksonville Jaguars great Fred Taylor. SN recruiting expert Brian McLaughlin was there to watch a blue-chipper put his hometown on the map.

YULEE, Fla.—Heading north on Interstate 95 out of Jacksonville, motorists need to pay attention—quicker than the switch of a radio station, they'll miss the exit for Yulee and quickly find themselves in rural Georgia.

Yulee has just over 11,000 residents, but it is unincorporated. There’s no mayor, no city hall.

The town is named after David Levy Yulee, who was instrumental in bringing the first railroad to Florida in the 1850s and who also was the first Jewish U.S. senator. Even with that relatively famous name, Yulee residents told Sporting News that sometimes the place gets lost in the shuffle of greater Jacksonville or, worse, gets lumped in with nearby Fernandina Beach.

That’s where the high school comes in. Yulee had its own high school from the 1930s until 1965, when its doors were shuttered. Area students were transferred to Fernandina Beach High School. It was a tough pill to swallow for a town that considered Fernandina Beach a bitter rival.

In 2006, as population in the area grew, Yulee High was brought back to life. Graduates from its first incarnation flocked to the first football game, starved for something that had their community’s name on it. It was a way to rebuild an identity, and the town soon embraced the team. Granted, 10,000 fans didn’t instantly materialize, but a couple thousand did. Unlike many new high schools that have to build a community spirit from scratch, Yulee already had an identity, albeit one that been in mothballs.

The Legend of Derrick

Shortly after the high school reopened, stories began circulating about a middle school kid—Derrick Henry—who would be the biggest thing in the area since David Levy Yulee built the railroad. At about the same time, Yulee hired Bobby Ramsay to be its head football coach.

Ramsay had heard those "middle school legend" stories before. He’d been around long enough to know that every town had the "next great thing" lurking on some tattered field. Henry’s classmates and future teammates were already in awe.

“I still remember him playing basketball and dunking in middle school,” said Yulee junior wide receiver Tristyn Bennett, who is receiving interest from Troy of the Sun Belt Conference.

Ramsay soon got an up-close look at Henry.

“I would watch him when he was in eighth grade, and they used those youth-sized footballs,” Ramsay said. “And Derrick would actually fumble the ball more than you’d think because it was just too small for his hands and his arms, that’s how big he was even back then. I wish I could have had him when he was in eighth grade, because he would have been a 1,000-yard rusher for us on varsity even back then (in 2008).”

Four years later, with more than 9,000 career rushing yards, Henry is no longer just a middle school legend; he's a blue-chip college recruit. He has brought positive attention to his school and his town. He also has brought hype, a huge crowd and a national television audience to Yulee, which classmates and business owners appreciate equally.

A date to remember

Friday, Sept. 28, 2012: Even though Yulee’s game with Glades Day isn’t a district game, meaning it won’t have any bearing on either school’s playoff hopes, every kid on the team will remember this date. Most of the community will remember it, too.

About 9:30 a.m., the trucks from ESPN are already on campus, setting up at the stadium. The television giant has brought its own extra lighting, along with all the other bells and whistles that will make the broadcast look more like a college game than a matchup of two small-town high school programs.

While it is obvious that something is different around here, in front of the school there aren’t any major signs of the big game. While the local McDonald’s has a reminder about the game on its marquee, and other businesses have also taken note, it seems like business as usual on campus.

That is, until a visitor walks into the front office.

Receptionist Gina Powell is likely wishing she could hire 10 temp workers to help her handle the phone calls. Fans continuously flock to her desk to buy tickets. Callers want to know when the game is, what channel it’s on, how much do the tickets cost—and where can they purchase them?

“I would say that this week, I’ve gotten 20 times the calls I usually get here; it has been crazy all week, not just today,” Powell says.

Shortly afterward, the school announcements come over the intercom. Just in case they’ve forgotten, students are welcomed with the reminder that "Today is ESPN day!"

Ready to announce

In his tiny coach’s office, Ramsay is relaxed. Yes, he’ll later be on television sets all over the country. He knows people will whisper, ‘What will that coach do after Derrick Henry is gone?"—but he is trying to enjoy the moment despite the hectic schedule.

Henry pops into the office momentarily and comes across as incredibly burned out by the hoopla. He is wearing his jersey, a game-day tradition at most high schools to remind students to show up. Of course, on this day, how could anyone forget?

“Derrick wanted to commit to Alabama as early as May,” Ramsay says. “He’s just tired of the whole process. He just wants to get on the field, I think, but he’s handled all of this pretty well. He’s just tired of answering the same questions over and over again.”

A few hours later, it’s time for Henry to go national with his college decision. Alabama is considered a heavy favorite to receive his commitment. He committed to Georgia right after his sophomore year, but he later changed his mind.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban has walked the halls of Yulee’s tiny campus before—more than once, in fact. It’s kind of hard to imagine this coaching icon, who has won national championships and sat front and center at Heisman ceremonies navigating the hallways of this small-town school—but he has, because he wants this kid. Saban may not be at Yulee for this particular day’s activities, but somehow, his presence is felt and his name comes up in conversation frequently.

With the cameras now on, Henry has ditched the jersey and is dressed in a sharp-looking black suit. The entire student body packs the small gymnasium for the announcement and a pep rally. There is a desk set up for Henry, and three three hats are on it—Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. Everybody in the gym sits quietly for what seems like an eternity, so ESPN can finish up a show segment and then go remotely to Henry. After a commercial break, Henry is on the air live—and one can be sure Saban and his staff are glued to the television .

“They were the main schools that showed the most interest from the beginning,” Henry says of his finalists. “I’ve visited them over the years and I like coach Saban, coach (Derek) Dooley and coach (Mark) Richt’s programs. Those were the best schools for me.”

He then makes the obvious decision official and puts on the Alabama hat. The recruiting circus is over. Henry, who is graduating early, will be on Alabama’s campus in January.

“Just seeing how (Alabama) works and then talking to them and seeing how they go through things day in and day out, that’s what caught me and that’s what I want to be a part of,” Henry says.

With the decision behind him, it is finally time for what Henry has admitted he prefers to do most—put on a helmet and stop talking about himself.

Exclamation point

The stage is set for the televised game. The school has rented bleachers from Jacksonville to add an extra 1,000 seats, bringing capacity to an estimated 4,500. “Standing room only” takes on a whole new meaning, and fans have never had to park this far away to come to a Yulee football game—but they admit they hardly care.

Powell and the school staff’s sell more tickets in presale than the standard capacity, an idea of how many people have come to town for the game. Florida coach Will Muschamp, NFL great Fred Taylor and several current Jacksonville Jaguars players are just some of the people watching. Taylor, one of the Jaguars’ all-time greats, is on hand to watch his son, Glades Day star Kelvin Taylor, match up with Henry.

“We didn’t even really put it out there that we were preselling tickets,” said Candy Hicken, the school’s athletic director. “It’s been crazy all week, but it’s been exciting. It’s probably a chance of a lifetime to shine for a school our size.”

The game lives up to the hype. Both teams show almost immediately that the majority of their offense is going to come from their respective stud running backs. With his dad acting as the biggest cheerleader, Kelvin Taylor gets off to a great start and showcases some of his dad’s shifty, yet powerful, moves.

Henry’s style is more like a locomotive—slow start, but unstoppable once up to full speed. In the end, Henry rushes for 363 yards and six touchdowns in his team’s 42-6 win, while Taylor finishes with 222 yards and his team’s lone TD.

“I just told the offense that as long as we keep it rolling, I’ll score,” Henry said after the game. “So that’s how I got it going with my offensive line and my coaches.”

Henry goes into next week’s game against Fernandina Beach with 9,618 career rushing yards, the best four-year total in state history—surpassing former NFL great Emmitt Smith’s record. Taylor now has 9,220 yards from his freshman year to his senior year; he has 10,804 yards if his eighth-grade season is included (Taylor played varsity as an eighth-grader)—also surpassing Smith.

Maybe next week, things will get back to normal in Yulee, or maybe it’ll be next year. One thing is for sure, Alabama probably picked up some new fans on Friday.